Oil engine



. 2 Sheets-Sheet l l l l July 10, 1934. c. A. OWENS ET AL OIL ENGINE Filed Sept. 20, '1930 July 10, 1.934 c. A. OWENS ET A1.

OIL ENGINE Filed sepf. 20, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lar/lla various forms and may be yvarious kinds.

Patented July 1o, 1954 UNITED srA Tes PATENT i ori-"ICE v,oILENcnzrzw Clifford A. Owens and Russell O. Bresler, Marlon, Ohio, assignors to The Power Manufacturing Company, Marion, Ohio, a corporation of'Ohio Application September 20, 1930, Serial No. 483,149 i .e

11 Claims. (c1. 12s-4g) c This invention relates to oil engines and more particularly to means for controlling the fuel mixture in an oil engine. r\

One object of the invention is to provide an engine of this type with-mechanically and auto-A matically operated means-to so control the delivery of fuel and air to the cylinder of the engine as to cause a uniform mixture of air and fuel to be delivered to the engine in proportion to the load demand.

v A further object of the invention is to provide such an .engine with means whereby fuel, air

and water may be delivered to the cylinder of the engine in uniform proportions regardless'of the ventiom Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of such an engine; Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the controlling` mechanism; Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view, partly in elevation, vof the water controlling device; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the water valve; and Fig. 6 is a'plan` view of the rotatable air valve.

In these drawings we have illustrated one embodiment of our invention and have shown the same in connection with an oil engineA of a well known type but it will be understood that the means for controlling the fuel mixture may take applied to engines of The engine which is here illustrated being of a well mown type it is not necessary to describe the same in detail. It consists briey of a cylmeer' 1o in which is mounted c pistcn 11 which .is connected by a piston rod 12 with a cross head `13 slidably mounted in a guide 14. The cross head 13 is connected by a pitman 15 with a crank shaft 16. A fuel nozzle 17 is mounted in the cylinder head 18` and is connected by a pipe 19 with a fuel iniector'20 which is operated by the engine to inject a given quantity of fuel oil into the cylinder upon each compression stroke of the piston. The engine being in the present instance of the .two-cycle type the charge of fuel is delivered to the cylinder upon each outward stroke of the piston. If desired the engine may be provided with a combustion chamber located beyond the outward limit of movement of the piston, whichiforms in eect a part of the'cylinder and into -which the fuel is delivered. In the present instance, such a combustion chamber is shown at 21. The fuel injector is here shown as a pump comprising a cylinder 22 having its inlet connected with an oil supply pipe 23 and controlled by a check valve 24 and having its outlet connected with the pipe 19 andcontrolled by a check valve 29a. Mounted in the cylinder 22 of the pump is a piston or plunger 26 which is operated by a suitable actuating mechanism con- -nected with the crank shaft of -the e gine. In

the present instance, the cylinder 22 mounted in one end of a control box 27, which contains the mechanism for controlling the 'operation of the injector, and the stem of the plunger extends rearwardly through a partition 28 in the control box and is held-normally in its retracted position by a spring 29 `confined between a collar 30-onvthe stem of the plunger and the partition 28.

The rearward movement of the plunger, under the influence of the spring 29, is controlled by an adjusting device the position of which determines the amount of movement imparted to the plunger 4and thereby regulates the amount of fuel injected into the cylinder of the engine upon each operation o f `the plunger. As here shown, the rear-v ward movement of the plunger is by a tapered plate or wedge 31 `slidably mounted for` vertical movement in a guide 32 carried by a cy.- lindrical housing 33. 'Ihe end of thev plunger has an enlarged head 34 which has aninclined surface to correspond to the inclined face of the wedge and it will be apparent that whenv the wedge is inits lowermost position so thatthe thinnest portion thereof is in line with the plunger the latter will be fully retracted and the full charge of loil will be drawn' into the pump cylinder. When the wedge is more or less elevated so that a thicken portionl thereof is in line with the plunger the plunger will be retracted for a portion of its stroke only, thereby drawing into the cylinder a smaller quantity of oil and causing that smaller quantity to be delivered to the engine by a cam 39 carried by a'shaft 40, which shaft is connected by gears 41 with a countershaft 42 which, in turn, may be connected with the engine shaft 16 in any suitable manner, as by gears 43. The plunger 36 is held against rotation by lugs 44 slidably mounted in guideways 45 in the sides of the housing. Means are also provided for manually operating the injector when thel engine is being started or at such other times as may be desirable. To this end a shaft 45a is mounted in the control box and provided with a cam` 46 arranged to engage a collar 47 Secured tothe stem of the injector plunger 26. Rigidly secured to the shaft externally of the control box is an operating handle or lever 48. Fuel injecting mechanism of this type is known in the art and this particular injector and its operating mechanism, per se, form no part of the present invention. Y

In the starting of the engine any suitable means may be provided for ring the initial charges of fuel mixture. In the present device a pre-heated member 97 is inserted in the combustion chamber, as shown in Fig. 2, and serves to ignite the initial charge. After the engine is in operation the heat within the cylinder and the high compression of the fuel mixture will serve to ignite the fuel mixture Without the use of other ignition means.

As is customary in two-Cycle engines means are provided for delivering air under pressure to the Cylinder of the engine for the dual purpose of ejecting the burned gases from the cylinder and providing air for mixture with the fresh fuel. The piston of the engine operates on its compression stroke to draw air into a compression chamber and on` its power stroke to compress the air therein and, at the end of the power stroke, to connect the compression chamber with the cylinder to permit-the air to be discharged under pressure into the cylinder. In the present engine the compression chamber is independent of the crank case and comprises two parts 49 and 50. The part 49 extends about the rear end of the cylinder and is connected with' the interior thereof by a circumferentially arranged series of ports, a part of which are shown at 51. These air inlet ports are so arranged that they will be closed by the piston at all times except when the piston is in its rearmost position andthe piston is, in the present instance, providedwith a forwardly projecting portioh '52 which acts as a deflector to cause the air to travel lengthwise of the cylinder. The cylinder is provided in its lower side with an exhaust port 53 leading to an exhaust pipe 54. The exhaust port is of such a size and is so arranged that it will be opened by the piston prior to the opening of the air inlet ports and will be closed after the air inlet ports are closed. 'I'he part 50 of the compression chamber has valve controlled communication with the atmosphere so that upon one stroke of the piston air will be drawn into this chamber and then compressed upon the succeeding stroke of the piston in the opposite direction. As here shown, the chamber is provided with a series of slots controlled by inwardly opening nap valves 55, the several flaps being here'shown as formed in one piece. The part of the compression chamber communicates with the part 49 thereof through a passageway or neck 56 which is controlled by a valve 57 which is preferably of the butterfly type and is provided on its outer end with a crank 58 by means of which it may be adjusted. Such valves have been provided heretofore but have been manually operated, thus requiring the constant attendance of an operator to adjust the valve in accordance with the varying requirements of the engine as the load thereon increases or decreases. The present invention contemplates the control of this air valve and of the fuel injector according tothe load on the engine so as to maintain a uniform fuel mixture in the cylinder under all load conditions. In such a mechanically and automatically operated valve it is preferable that the latter should open and close gradually and for this purpose the controlling valve 57 has been provided, along each edge thereof, with a tapered projection or flange 59, thus causing a very gradual opening and closing of the valve.

In order to properly control the fuel mixture the controlling member 31 for the fuel injector and the air valve 57 are actuated in accordance with the load on the engine; Various devices may be utilized for this purpose but we prefer to utilize a centrifugal governor and, in the present drawings, such a governor is indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 60. This governor is of a known type and does not of itself form any part of the invention. Briefly it consists of a vertical shaft 61 having geared connection with the countershaft 42 and having secured thereto a supporting member 62 on which are pivotally mounted centrifugally operated y weights 63. These y weights are provided with arms 64 which act on a collar 65 slidably mounted on the shaft 61 and acted upon by a spring 66 which resists its movement by the fly weights. 'Ihe collar 65 is connected by tie rods 67, or other suitable means, with a second collar 68 which is also slidably mounted on the shaft and is thus caused to move thereon in accordance with the movement of the fly weights. A lever 69 is pivotally mounted at 70 and has a yoke-shaped portion 7l which embraces the collar 68 and is pivotally connected therewith so that as the collar 69 rises and falls under the influence of the fly weights 63 the lever will be rocked about its axis. The forward end of the lever 69 is connected by a link 72 with the upper end of the wedge 31 which controls the operation of the injector, and this forward end of ,the lever 69 is also connected by a short link 73 with a lever 74 which is pivotally mounted between its ends on a bracket 75 carried by the control box 27. The forward end of the lever 74 is connected by a link 76 with one arm of a bell crank lever 77 the other arm of which is connected by a link 78 with the crank arm 28 on the air control valve 57.

When the engine is stationary and the y weights of the governor are in their normal or innermost positions the injector controlling device 31 will be in its lowermost position and the air valve will be in its open position. When the and the speed of operation decreases, the lever I' 69 of the governor will move downwardly, thus causing the injector controlling device to be depressed-and an increased quantity of fuel to be injected into the engine cylinder, and causing the air value to be moved to an open position so rethe fuel mixture andwe have provided means for 1 causing water tobe introduced into the engine cylinder in direct proportion to the quantities of fuel and air introduced therein. `For this purpose we have mounted on vthe engine cylinder, preferably on-a bracket '19,-a water valve which is here shown as comprising a casing 80 having in its upper side an inlet port 81 which is connected with a water supply pipe 82. The valve lcasing has in its lower side an outlet port 83 whichis connected by a pipe 84 with a fitting 85 titiA Patent, is:

1. 1n an'oil engine comprisingacylinder conwhich communicates lwith the interior of the engine cylinder through a port 86 which preferably l leads into one of the air inlet ports 51; Ii desired,

the tting may be provided with a sight glass 87 through which the iiow of water may be observed. The valve casing has a longitudinal bore in which is slidably mounted a valve member comprising cylindrical end portions 88 and 89 between which is a tapered circumferential port 90. The valve member 89 is connected by a rod 91 with an arm 92 extending upwardlyirom the lever 74 in line with the axis thereof, thus connecting the water valve with-the governor and causing it to be actuated-simultaneously with theinjector controlling device and the air valve. Preferably the valve rod 91 is jointed, as shown at 93, to compensate for the vertical movement imparted thereto by the arm 92 and, if desired, it may be provided with an adjusting device, such as a turn buckle 94, to regulate the position of the valve member 89Swith relation to the ports 8l and 83.

When the engine is stationary the valve member will be retained inthe position shown in Fig. 5, that is, with the forward cylindrical Iportion 88 in line with the inlet port, thus preventing the iiow of water to the cylinder. When the engine is running light or idling Athelvalve member will be moved to its opposite position with the cylindrical portion 89 in line with the inlet port, thus preventing the introduction of water to the cylinder. As the load on the engine increases the action of the governor will move `the valve member to the right in Fig. 5, thus gradually opening the inlet port 81 and permitting a 110W of water to the cylinder in proportion to the l'oad on the engine. 'Ifhe valve casing is provided in its lower side with a longitudinal groove 95 which connects both ends of the port therein with the outlet( port 83 and serves to drain out any water which may pass the cylindrical portions of the valve merri-l bers. When this valve has been properly set or adjustedit will take care of all variations in the load and will not nood-under any condition. Its

movement is positive and it will not be held open the details thereof as variousmodincations ma occur'toa person skilled'in the iart.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim as'n'ew Aand desire to secure byl Letters nected with a source of supply for fuel and a source of supply for air under pressure, 'a device to regulate the amount of fuel deliveredto said cylinder, and a rotary valve to control the delivery of' air to said cylinder, said valve having a tapered contact surface extending axially thereof to gradually establish and interrupt the communication between said source of air supply and said cylinder, and means controlled in accordance with the operation of said engine to actuate said fuel controlling device andsaid air valve.

2. In an e'gine of the character described comprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exhaust port, a piston mounted in said cylinder and controlling said air inlet and said port, a fuel vinjector connected with said cylinderand a device to control the amount of fuel delivered by said injector to said cylinder; a compression ychamber comprising a part communicating with said cylinder in the rear of said piston and with said air inlet, and a second part having an air inlet, automatic valve means to control the air inlet for said second part of said compression chamber, an adjustable valve to controlthe communication between the two parts of said compression chamber, a governor driven by said engine, Vand means actuated by said governor to control said adjustable valve and said fuel con- 'trolling device. f

`injector connected with said cylinder, and a device to control the amount of fuel delivered by said injector to saidQ cylinder; a compressiony chamber comprising a part communicating with said .cylinder in therear of said piston and with said air inlet, and a -second part having a plurality of air inlets, iiap valves to control the last mentioned air inlets, an adjustable valve to control the .communication between the two parts of said compression chamber, a governor driven by said engine, and means actuated by said governor to control said adjustable valve and said fuel controlling device.

4. In an engine of the character describedcomprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exhaust port, a piston mounted in said cylinder and controlling said air inlet and said port, a fuel injector connected with said cylinder, and a device to control the amount of fuel delivered by said injector to saiddcylinder; a compression chamber comprising apart communicating with said cylinder in the rear of said piston and with said air inlet, and a second part having an air inlet, automatic valve means to control the airl inlet for said second part ,ofsaid compression chamber, a passageway connecting said parts of said compression chamber, a valve member rotatably mounted in said passageway and arranged to gradually open and close the same, a governor driven by said engine, and means actuated by said governor to control said valve and said fuel controlling device.

, 5. In an engine of the character described cominlet, valve means operated by pressure in said prising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exin said cylinder chamber lto close the last mentioned air inlet; a

structure interposed between said part of said compression chamber and said air inlet and hav,- ing a passageway the edges of which constitute valve seats, a valve member rotatably mounted in said passageway and having tapered anges to engage the respective valve seats and gradually close said passageway, a governor driven by said engine, and means controlled by said governor to actuate said rotatable valve member.

6. In an engine of the character described comprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exhaust port, a piston in said cylinder, a compression chamber in which air is compressed by the action of said piston and which is adapted to communicate with said air inlet, a fuel injectorcommunicating with said cylinder and comprising a plunger, an actuating device for `said plunger driven by said engine, adjustable means interposed between and movable with said plunger and said actuating device to vary the amount of movement imparted to said plunger by said actuating device, a governor driven by said engine, and means controlled by said governor to actuate said adjustable means.

7. In an engine of the character described comprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exhaust port, a piston in said cylinder, a compression chamber in which air is compressed by the action of said piston and which is adapted to communicate with said air inlet, a fuel injector communicating with said cylinder and comprising a plunger, a reciprocatory actuating device driven by said engine and arranged in line with saidA plunger, a tapered member mounted between said plunger and said actuating device for movement therewith and for movement transversely thereto to vary the amount of movement imparted to said plunger by said actuating device, a governor driven by said engine, and means controlled by said governor to actuate said adjustable means.

8. In an engine of the character described comprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an exhaust port, a piston in said cylinder, a compression chamber in which air is compressed by the action of said piston and which is adapted to communicate with said air inlet, a rotatable valve to regulate the flo'vsT of air from said compression chamber to said air inlet, a fuel injector communicating with said cylinder and comprising a plunger, an actuating device for said -plunger driven by said engine, adjustable means interposed between and movable with said plunger and said actuating device to vary the amount of movement imparted to said plunger by said actuating l device, a governor` driven by said engine, and means controlled by said governor to actuate said rotatable valve and said adjustable means.

9. In an engine of the character described comprising a Hcylinderhaving separate connections with a source of supply for 'fuel and with a, source of supply for air under pressure, a, device to control thle amount of fuel delivered to said cylinder, an adjustable valve to regulate the amount of air delivered to said cylinder, and a governor operatively connected with said engine; a movable member actuated by said governor in accordance with the speed of operation of said engine, and separate means for operatively connecting said member with said fuel controlling device and said air valve topreduce the fuel supply to a minimum and to close said air valve when said engine is idling or operating under light load and to gradually increase the fuel supply and to gradually open said air valve as the load on said engine increases.

10. In an engine of the character described,

comprising a cylinder having an air inlet and an Y exhaust port, a piston mounted in said cylinder and controlling said air inlet and said exhaust port, a fuel injector, means separate from said air inlet for connecting said fuel injector directly with said cylinder, a device to control the amount of fuel delivered by said injector to said cylinder, a compression chamber in which air is compressed by the action of said piston and which is adapted to communicate with said air inlet, and a governor driven by said engine; a valve to control the communication between said compression chamber and said air inlet, a lever actuated by said governor, and means for separately connecting said lever with said fuel controlling device and with said air Valve to cause air and fuel to be separately delivered to said cylinder in proportion to the load on said engine.

11. In an engine of the character described, comprising a cylinder having an vair inlet and an exhaust port, a piston mounted in said cylinder and controlling said air inlet and said exhaust port, a crank case, a partition separating said crank case from said cylinder, a crank shaft in said crank case, means including a part slidably mounted in said partition for connecting said shaft with said piston, a fuel injector, means separate from Vsaid air inlet for connecting said fuel injector with said cylinder, a device to control the amount of fuel delivered by said injector to said cylinder, a compression chamber separate from said crank case in which air is compressed by the action of said piston and which is adapted to communicate with said air inlet, a valve to control the communication between said compression chamber and said air inlet, a governor driven by said engine, and meanscontrolled by said governor to actuate said valve and said fuel controlling device, andvary the amounts of air and fuel delivered to said cylinder accordingto the load on said engine.

CLIFFORD A. OWENS.

RUSSELL O. BRESLER. 

